An electronic tracking system that follows suspects and criminals around their neighborhoods and compares the information to current crimes has received, of all things, the stamp of approval from the American Civil Liberties Union
The Global Positioning System’s satellites track probationers and parolees and compare their whereabouts to the location of crimes committed in their vicinity.
While local governments across the country are using GPS to track offenders, the additional crime cross-referencing tool is unique to the VeriTracks system, which is manufactured by the Arlington, Virginia, company Veridian.
High rates of recidivism among offenders underline the value of the added function: A Department of Justice survey found that two out of three inmates released from state prisons commit another serious offense within three years.
GPS monitoring gives local governments a cheap alternative to incarceration and allows offenders an opportunity to continue working and living at home. Law enforcement agencies can create “electronic fences” around areas that are off-limits to offenders. The GPS system can be programmed to alert police if a pedophile enters a schoolyard, for example.
The county equipped the 10 pre-trial suspects with the device as a condition of bond in August, and so far, none of them has had more run-ins with the law. Eslinger said his department plans to expand the program to include non-violent probationers and parolees as well
